U.S. patent application number 17/322519 was filed with the patent office on 2021-09-02 for managing trust points in ledger systems.
This patent application is currently assigned to ALIPAY (HANGZHOU) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is ALIPAY (HANGZHOU) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Yayang Guan, Xinying Yang.
Application Number | 20210271669 17/322519 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005585046 |
Filed Date | 2021-09-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210271669 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Guan; Yayang ; et
al. |
September 2, 2021 |
MANAGING TRUST POINTS IN LEDGER SYSTEMS
Abstract
Disclosed herein are devices, methods, systems, and apparatus,
including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for
managing trust points in ledger systems. One of the methods
includes obtaining a request for establishing a trust point for a
specified record in a series of records in a ledger system,
determining whether the specified record is a candidate trust point
that is trustworthy traceable to a preceding trust point, if so,
determining whether the specified record is a timestamp record
including trust timestamp information from a trust time server, in
response to determining the specified record is not a timestamp
record, identifying a timestamp record adjacent to the specified
record, determining whether the timestamp record is trustworthily
traceable to the specified record, and in response to determining
the timestamp record is trustworthily traceable to the specified
record, marking the timestamp record to be the trust point in the
series of records.
Inventors: |
Guan; Yayang; (Hangzhou,
CN) ; Yang; Xinying; (Hangzhou, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ALIPAY (HANGZHOU) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. |
Hangzhou |
|
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
ALIPAY (HANGZHOU) INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Hangzhou
CN
|
Family ID: |
1000005585046 |
Appl. No.: |
17/322519 |
Filed: |
May 17, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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17082727 |
Oct 28, 2020 |
11010372 |
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17322519 |
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PCT/CN2019/118143 |
Nov 13, 2019 |
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17082727 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/2255 20190101;
G06F 16/2379 20190101; G06F 16/27 20190101; G06F 21/64
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 16/23 20060101
G06F016/23; G06F 16/27 20060101 G06F016/27; G06F 16/22 20060101
G06F016/22; G06F 21/64 20060101 G06F021/64 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving a
verification request to verify a to-be-verified record in a series
of records stored in a ledger system by a computing device, wherein
the series of records comprise trust points, each of the trust
points indicating that records before the trust point in the series
of records are trustworthy, wherein one of the trust points is
trustworthily traceable to another one of the trust points in the
series of records, and each of the trust points is a timestamp
record that comprises trust timestamp information from a trust time
server, and wherein the trust time server is associated with a
trust time authority and independent from the ledger system; and
determining that the to-be-verified record is verified by the
computing device verifying that the to-be-verified record is
trustworthily traceable to an adjacent trust point in the series of
records, without verifying records preceding the adjacent trust
point in the series of records.
22. The method of claim 21, wherein each record of the series of
records comprises at least one of a respective transaction, or a
respective hash of a preceding record immediately before the record
in the series of records.
23. The method of claim 21, wherein verifying that the
to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable to an adjacent
trust point in the series of records comprises at least one of:
verifying that the to-be-verified record comprises information that
is traceable to and authenticates the adjacent trust point,
verifying the adjacent trust point comprises information that is
traceable to and authenticates the to-be-verified record, or
verifying that each record from the to-be-verified record to the
adjacent trust point includes a respective hash of a preceding
record immediately before the record.
24. The method of claim 21, wherein the adjacent trust point is one
of: a trust point immediately before the to-be-verified record in
the series of records, or a first record that is a source for the
trust points in the series of records.
25. The method of claim 21, wherein verifying that the
to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable to an adjacent
trust point in the series of records comprises at least one of:
tracing from the to-be-verified record backward to the adjacent
trust point in the series of records, or tracing from the adjacent
trust point forward to the to-be-verified record in the series of
records.
26. The method of claim 21, wherein the series of records comprise
a plurality of timestamp records, each of the plurality of
timestamp records comprising respective trust timestamp information
from the trust time server.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: transmitting a
timestamp request to the trust time server; receiving a trust
timestamp and associated signature for the timestamp request from
the trust time server; and storing the trust timestamp and
associated signature as a record in the series of records, wherein
the record storing the trust timestamp and associated signature
from the trust time server is a new timestamp record in the series
of records, and wherein the new timestamp record is stored after a
most recent record stored in the series of records when the
timestamp request is transmitted and the new timestamp record
comprises a hash of the most recent record.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the timestamp request comprises
at least one of: an identifier of the timestamp request among
timestamp requests transmitted to the trust time server, an
identifier or a hash of the most recent record, or a hash digest of
hashes of records in a unit associated with the timestamp
request.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein records between first and
second timestamp records in the series of records are grouped in a
unit, the first timestamp record being immediately preceding the
second timestamp record among the plurality of timestamp records,
and wherein the second timestamp record is included as a last
record in the unit.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the adjacent trust point is one
of: a last record in a unit that includes the to-be-verified
record, or a last record in a preceding unit immediately before the
unit that includes the to-be-verified record.
31. An apparatus for managing trust points in a ledger system,
comprising: one or more processors; and one or more
computer-readable devices coupled to the one or more processors and
having tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable media storing one
or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more
processors, perform operations comprising: receiving a verification
request to verify a to-be-verified record in a series of records
stored in a ledger system, wherein the series of records comprise
trust points, each of the trust points indicating that records
before the trust point in the series of records are trustworthy,
wherein one of the trust points is trustworthily traceable to
another one of the trust points in the series of records, and each
of the trust points is a timestamp record that comprises trust
timestamp information from a trust time server, and wherein the
trust time server is associated with a trust time authority and
independent from the ledger system; and determining that the
to-be-verified record is verified by verifying that the
to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable to an adjacent
trust point in the series of records, without verifying records
preceding the adjacent trust point in the series of records.
32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein each record of the series of
records comprises at least one of: a respective transaction, or a
respective hash of a preceding record immediately before the record
in the series of records.
33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein verifying that the
to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable to an adjacent
trust point in the series of records comprises at least one of
verifying that the to-be-verified record comprises information that
is traceable to and authenticates the adjacent trust point,
verifying the adjacent trust point comprises information that is
traceable to and authenticates the to-be-verified record, or
verifying that each record from the to-be-verified record to the
adjacent trust point includes a respective hash of a preceding
record immediately before the record.
34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the adjacent trust point is
one of: a trust point immediately before the to-be-verified record
in the series of records, or a first record that is a source for
the trust points in the series of records.
35. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein verifying that the
to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable to an adjacent
trust point in the series of records comprises at least one of:
tracing from the to-be-verified record backward to the adjacent
trust point in the series of records, or tracing from the adjacent
trust point forward to the to-be-verified record in the series of
records.
36. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the series of records
comprise a plurality of timestamp records, each of the plurality of
timestamp records comprising respective trust timestamp information
from the trust time server.
37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the operations further
comprise: transmitting a timestamp request to the trust time
server; receiving a trust timestamp and associated signature for
the timestamp request from the trust time server; and storing the
trust timestamp and associated signature as a record in the series
of records, wherein the record storing the trust timestamp and
associated signature from the trust time server is a new timestamp
record in the series of records, and wherein the new timestamp
record is stored after a most recent record stored in the series of
records when the timestamp request is transmitted and the new
timestamp record comprises a hash of the most recent record.
38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the timestamp request
comprises at least one of: an identifier of the timestamp request
among timestamp requests transmitted to the trust time server, an
identifier or a hash of the most recent record, or a hash digest of
hashes of records in a unit associated with the timestamp
request.
39. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein records between first and
second timestamp records in the series of records are grouped in a
unit, the first timestamp record being immediately preceding the
second timestamp record among the plurality of timestamp records,
and wherein the second timestamp record is included as a last
record in the unit, and wherein the adjacent trust point is one of:
a last record in a unit that includes the to-be-verified record, or
a last record in a preceding unit immediately before the unit that
includes the to-be-verified record.
40. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing one or more
instructions executable by a computer device to perform operations
comprising: receiving a verification request to verify a
to-be-verified record in a series of records stored in a ledger
system, wherein the series of records comprise trust points, each
of the trust points indicating that records before the trust point
in the series of records are trustworthy, wherein one of the trust
points is trustworthily traceable to another one of the trust
points in the series of records, and each of the trust points is a
timestamp record that comprises trust timestamp information from a
trust time server, and wherein the trust time server is associated
with a trust time authority and independent from the ledger system;
and determining that the to-be-verified record is verified by
verifying that the to-be-verified record is trustworthily traceable
to an adjacent trust point in the series of records, without
verifying records preceding the adjacent trust point in the series
of records.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit
of priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/082,727, filed
Oct. 28, 2020, which is a continuation of PCT Application No.
PCT/CN2019/118143, filed on Nov. 13, 2019. The disclosures of the
aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in
their entireties.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This specification relates to managing trust points in
ledger systems.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A ledger is typically used to record a history of
transactions, such as economic and financial activities in an
organization. Applications with ledger-like functionality, such as
custom audit tables or audit trails created in relational
databases, have been built to maintain an accurate history of
applications' data. However, building such applications is
time-consuming and prone to human error. Also, as the relational
databases are not inherently immutable, any changes to the data are
hard to track and verify.
[0004] Distributed ledger systems (DLSs), which can also be
referred to as consensus networks, and/or blockchain networks,
enable participating entities to securely, and immutably store
data. DLSs are commonly referred to as blockchain networks without
referencing any particular user case. Examples of types of
blockchain networks can include public blockchain networks, private
blockchain networks, and consortium blockchain networks. Blockchain
networks perform a consensus process to validate each transaction
before the transaction can be added to the blockchain networks,
which can be time-consuming, ineffective, and complicated.
[0005] Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a ledger system
that can effectively and securely manage transactions and provide
more efficient ways of verifying immutability, reliability,
trustworthiness, and traceability of transactions stored in the
ledger system.
SUMMARY
[0006] Described embodiments of the subject matter can include one
or more features, alone or in combination.
[0007] For example, in one embodiment, a computer-implemented
method includes: obtaining a request for establishing a trust point
for a specified record in a series of records stored in a ledger
system by a computing device in the ledger system, the trust point
indicating that records before the trust point in the series of
records are trustworthy; determining whether the specified record
is a candidate trust point; in response to determining that the
specified record is a candidate trust point, determining whether
the specified record is a timestamp record that includes trust
timestamp information from a trust time server by the computing
device, the trust time server being associated with a trust time
authority and independent from the ledger system; in response to
determining that the specified record is not a timestamp record,
identifying a timestamp record that is adjacent to the specified
record among timestamp records in the series of records by the
computing device; determining whether the timestamp record is
trustworthily traceable to the specified record by the computing
device; and in response to determining that the timestamp record is
trustworthily traceable to the specified record, marking the
timestamp record to be the trust point in the series of records by
the computing device.
[0008] In some embodiments, one or more of these general and
specific embodiments may be implemented using a device, a system, a
method, or a computer-readable media, or any combination of
devices, systems, methods, and computer-readable media. The
foregoing and other described embodiments can each, optionally,
include one or more of the following embodiments:
[0009] In some embodiments, each record of the series of records
includes a respective transaction.
[0010] In some embodiments, each record of the series of records
includes a respective hash of a preceding record immediately before
the record in the series of record.
[0011] In some embodiments, determining that the timestamp record
is trustworthily traceable to the specified record includes at
least one of verifying that the timestamp record comprises
information that is traceable to and authenticates the specified
record, or verifying the specified record comprises information
that is traceable to and authenticates the timestamp record.
[0012] In some embodiments, determining that the timestamp record
is trustworthily traceable to the specified record includes:
verifying that each record from the timestamp record to the
specified record in the series of records includes a respective
hash of a preceding record immediately before the record.
[0013] In some embodiments, determining that the specified record
is a candidate trust point includes: verifying that the specified
record is trustworthily traceable to a preceding trust point before
the specified record in the series of records.
[0014] In some embodiments, verifying that the specified record is
trustworthily traceable to the preceding trust point before the
specified record includes: verifying that each record from the
specified record to the preceding trust point in the series of
records includes a respective hash of a preceding record
immediately before the record.
[0015] In some embodiments, the preceding trust point is one of: a
trust point immediately before the specified record in the series
of records, or a first record that is a source for trust points in
the series of records.
[0016] In some embodiments, verifying that the specified record is
trustworthily traceable to the preceding trust point before the
specified record in the series of records includes at least one of:
tracing from the specified record back to the preceding trust point
in the series of records, or tracing from the preceding trust point
forward to the specified record in the series of records.
[0017] In some embodiments, receiving a request to verify a
to-be-verified record that is after the specified record in the
series of records; and determining that the to-be-verified record
is verified by verifying that the to-be-verified record is
trustworthily traceable to the timestamp record without verifying
records preceding the timestamp record in the series of
records.
[0018] In some embodiments, transmitting a timestamp request to the
trust time server; receiving a trust timestamp and associated
signature for the timestamp request from the trust time server; and
storing the trust timestamp and associated signature as a record in
the series of records, where the record storing the trust timestamp
and associated signature from the trust time server is a new
timestamp record in the series of records, and the new timestamp
record is stored immediately after a most recent record stored in
the series of records when the timestamp request is transmitted and
includes a hash of the most recent record.
[0019] In some embodiments, records between the new timestamp
record and a preceding timestamp record immediately before the new
timestamp record in the series of records are grouped in a unit,
and the new timestamp record is included as a last record in the
unit.
[0020] In some embodiments, the timestamp request includes at least
one of: an identifier of the timestamp request among timestamp
requests transmitted to the trust time server, an identifier or a
hash of the most recent record, or a hash digest of hashes of the
records in the unit.
[0021] In some embodiments, identifying the timestamp record
includes one of: identifying a last record in a unit that includes
the specified record to be the timestamp record, and identifying a
last record in a preceding unit immediately before the unit that
includes the specified record to be the timestamp record.
[0022] In some embodiments, the method further includes:
determining that a second record in the series of records is a
second candidate trust point; determining that the second record is
a timestamp record in the series of records; and marking the second
record to be the second trust point in the series of records.
[0023] In some embodiments, the method further includes:
periodically transmitting timestamp requests to the trust time
server with a predetermined time period for timestamp request.
[0024] In some embodiments, the method further includes:
sequentially generating blocks storing the series of records in a
blockchain, each of the blocks storing one or more records and
being linked together in the blockchain, where generating the
blocks in the blockchain is independent from determining that the
specified record is the trust point and independent from
transmitting a timestamp request to the trust time server.
[0025] In some embodiments, determining that the specified record
in the series of record stored in the ledger system is the
candidate trust point is independent from transmitting timestamp
requests to the trust time server.
[0026] In some embodiments, the specified record is not marked as
the trust point in the series of transactions in response to
determining that the specified record is not a timestamp record
that includes trust timestamp information from a trust time
server.
[0027] In some embodiments, each record in the series of records is
associated with a respective record identifier, and the series of
records are stored in order according to respective record
identifiers, and identifying a timestamp record that is adjacent to
the specified record among timestamp records in the series of
records includes identifying a timestamp record associated with a
record identifier that is closest to a record identifier for the
specified record in the series of records.
[0028] In some embodiments, the new timestamp record includes a
hash digest of hashes of the records in the unit.
[0029] It is appreciated that methods in accordance with this
specification may include any combination of the embodiments
described herein. That is, methods in accordance with this
specification are not limited to the combinations of embodiments
specifically described herein, but also include any combination of
the embodiments provided.
[0030] The details of one or more embodiments of this specification
are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description
below. Other embodiments and advantages of this specification will
be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
environment that can be used to execute embodiments of this
specification.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
architecture in accordance with embodiments of this
specification.
[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
environment implementing trust timestamp services in a ledger
system in accordance with embodiments of this specification.
[0034] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system for implementing a trust timestamp service in a single
ledger server associated with a single client in accordance with
embodiments of this specification.
[0035] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system for providing a trust timestamp service to multiple clients
by a joint ledger server in accordance with embodiments of this
specification.
[0036] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system having trust points in accordance with embodiments of this
specification.
[0037] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system having trust timestamp information stored in transactions in
accordance with embodiments of this specification.
[0038] FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system managing trust points on timestamp transactions in
accordance with embodiments of this specification.
[0039] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process
that can be executed in accordance with embodiments of this
specification.
[0040] FIG. 7 depicts examples of modules of an apparatus in
accordance with embodiments of this specification.
[0041] Like reference numbers and designations in the various
drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0042] This specification describes technologies for managing trust
points in ledger systems. These technologies generally involve a
ledger system (e.g., a blockchain-based centralized ledger system)
that adopts a data structure of a blockchain and/or a
blockchain-like data structure to leverage immutability,
reliability, trustworthiness, traceability, and verifiability of
data stored in the ledger system. The ledger system can store data
as a series of data records (also referred to as records) such as
transactions or blocks. In some embodiments, the series of records
can be linked or anchored together to prevent unauthorized
alteration of the stored data. For example, a record may store a
unique identifier (e.g., a respective hash) of a preceding record
immediately before the record such that any change of the preceding
record will result in a change of the unique identifier, which in
turn result in a mismatch to the unique identifier stored in the
record. This blockchain-like data structure provides a scheme for
verifying trustworthiness of the records stored in the ledger
system. For example, trustworthiness of a record can be verified by
checking whether all record preceding the record can be
trustworthily traced back to the origin or initial record (e.g., a
genesis transaction in a ledger system or a genesis block in a
blockchain).
[0043] As used herein, "A is trustworthily traceable to B" include
scenarios where A includes information that is traceable to B and
the information authenticates that B has not been altered, or B
includes information that is traceable to A and the information
authenticates that A has not been altered. For example, A can
include a hash of B. The hash of B can be computed, for example,
independently by a verifier and compared to the hash stored in A.
If the two hashes match, then it can be determined that B is
authenticated. Accordingly, A is trustworthily traceable to B.
Similarly, A is considered trustworthily traceable to B if B
includes a hash or other verifiable information of A that
authenticates that A has not been altered. In some embodiments, A
trustworthily traceable to B also includes scenarios where A and B
are trustworthily traceable to each other via intermediate data.
For example, A is considered trustworthily traceable to B if A is
trustworthily traceable to C, and C is trustworthily traceable to
B. Additional scenarios can be contemplated.
[0044] The ledger system can establish trust points among the
series of records. For example, a trust point can be a record
(e.g., a transaction in a block of a blockchain or a block in a
blockchain) among the series of records, indicating that all
records stored before the trust point in the series of records are
trustworthy. As such, to verify trustworthiness of data stored
subsequent to a trust point can be verified by trustworthily
tracing to the trust point without the need to trace back to the
origin or initial record (e.g., a genesis transaction in a ledger
system or a genesis block in a blockchain) or any data preceding
the trust point. Accordingly, the verification process can be
simplified and computational efficiency can be improved. In some
embodiments, the ledger system can obtain trust timestamp
information from a trust time server that is independent from the
ledger system (e.g., a third-party, globally acknowledged time
authority). The ledger system can leverage the established trust on
the timestamp information provided by the trust timer server and
integrate the trust timestamp information into the ledger system
for the stored data and/or the established trust points, which can
further enhance credibility, trustworthiness, auditability, and
legality of the stored data.
[0045] For illustration purposes only, in the present disclosure, a
transaction is described as an example of a record.
[0046] The techniques described in this specification produce
several technical effects. In some embodiments, the ledger system
can be a blockchain-based centralized ledger system that can
provide a cryptographically verifiable state-independent data
ledger storage with time-critical auditing (with non-repudiation
and temper-resistance). In some embodiments, the ledger system can
provide ledger services based on a cloud platform featuring
centralized endorsement with credibility and neutrality. The ledger
system can provide highly reliable and high-performance auditable
streaming ledger services by leveraging both a blockchain system's
high credibility and a centralized system's high performance and
low latency for handling various types of data and logs with
auditing requirements, traceability, and tracking.
[0047] In some embodiments, the ledger system can include a central
trusted authority that provides transparent, immutable, and
cryptographically verifiable data that are stored in blocks of a
blockchain data structure. In some embodiments, the stored data can
be in a log format, including, for example, not only for
transaction logs but also other transaction data and block data.
Due to the existence of the central trusted authority, the ledger
system does not need to perform consensus processes to establish
trust, which can result in significant time- and cost-savings. In
some embodiments, the ledger system can be more efficient compared
to a typical blockchain-based distributed or decentralized ledger
system. In some embodiments, the ledger system can provide a
cloud-based storage service with enhanced trust, efficiency, and
storage performance.
[0048] In some embodiments, the ledger system can enhance
credibility, auditability, and legality of stored data in the
ledger system. For example, the ledger system can interface with a
trust time server and provide trust timestamp information of the
trust time server to clients of the ledger system. The trust time
server is independent from the ledger system. The trust time server
can be associated with a third-party trust time authority that
provides accurate time services and can be acknowledged or trusted,
for example, globally, by the public, auditing entities (such as
companies, institutions, or organizations), and/or legal entities
(such as courts or governments). As the trustworthiness of the
timestamp information provided by the trust time server is
acknowledged, integrating the timestamp information of the trust
time server into the ledger system for the stored data can further
enhance credibility, auditability, and legality of the data stored
in the ledger system.
[0049] In some embodiments, the ledger system features respective
rights of parties or participants of the ledger system. For
example, a client of the ledger system can have a right of
providing a signature for storing transaction data in the ledger
system such that the client cannot repudiate the transaction data.
In some embodiments, the ledger system has a right of providing a
signature for acknowledging the storage of the transaction data
such that the ledger system cannot deny storing the transaction
data. In some embodiments, a trust time server has a right of
providing a signature for trust timestamp information for the
transaction data stored on the ledger system such that the trust
time server cannot deny the trust timestamp information. In some
embodiments, the three respective rights of the three parties (the
client, the ledger system, and the trust time server) are
independent from each other. The integration of the three rights
and their respective non-repudiation and temper-resistance nature
can further enhance creditability and auditability of the
transaction data stored in the ledger system.
[0050] In some embodiments, the ledger system can provide enhanced
orderliness and authenticity of transaction data stored in the
ledger system. For example, the ledger system can transmit trust
timestamp requests for transaction data stored in the ledger system
to the trust time server, and the trust time server can provide
trust timestamp information such as timestamps and associated
signatures, for example, to authenticate or endorse the time of the
transaction data. The ledger system can store the trust timestamp
information, e.g., as transactions, in the ledger system.
[0051] In some embodiments, a transaction storing trust timestamp
information from the trust time server can be referred to as a
timestamp transaction. In some embodiments, the series of
transactions can be linked or anchored together by each transaction
storing a respective hash of a preceding transaction immediately
before the transaction. The timestamp transaction can also store a
hash of a preceding transaction immediately before the timestamp
transaction. Thus, the trust timestamp information can be used to
verify orderliness and authenticity of the transactions stored in
the ledger system, which in turn can provide enhanced
creditability, auditability and legality of the transactions stored
in the ledger system.
[0052] In some embodiments, the ledger system can request trust
timestamp information for two or more transactions in a unit that
are added into the ledger system after an immediately preceding
timestamp transaction. The ledger system can send a timestamp
request including information of the transactions, e.g., a hash
digest of hashes of the transactions in the unit. After receiving
trust timestamp information for the timestamp request, the ledger
system can store the trust timestamp information as a new timestamp
transaction in the unit that is also the last transaction in the
unit. The transactions in the unit can be considered to have the
same trust timestamp as the new timestamp transaction. In such a
way, the ledger system can reduce an overall cost requesting trust
timestamps from the trust time server.
[0053] In some embodiments, these technologies described herein can
provide enhanced immutability, reliability, trustworthiness, and
traceability of data records (e.g., transactions) stored in the
ledger system and provide more efficient ways of verifying those
security features of the data records. In some embodiments, the
ledger system can establish trust points in the series of
transactions stored in the ledger system. A trust point indicates
that transactions preceding the trust point are trustworthy. When a
transaction in the series of transactions is to be verified, the
ledger system can identify a nearest trust point preceding the
transaction and can determine whether the transaction can be
verified by just verifying whether the transaction can be
trustworthily traceable to the nearest trust point, without
verifying historic transactions such as transactions preceding the
nearest trust point. This can greatly enhance transaction
verification speed, efficiency, and accuracy in the series of
transactions. For example, the ledger system can include a large
number of transactions, e.g., 1000 transactions. If there is no
trust point established in the large number of transactions, to
verify a most recent transaction, e.g., the 1000th transaction, the
ledger system has to verify whether the transaction can be
trustworthily traceable to an origin or genesis transaction (e.g.,
the first transaction) by, for example, verifying whether each
transaction from the most recent transaction to the original
transaction includes a respective hash of a preceding transaction
immediately before it. That is, the ledger system has to perform
about 1000 times of verifications. However, if the ledger system
establishes a number of trust points in the number of transactions,
e.g., a trust point per 10 transactions, to verify the most recent
transaction, the ledger system can identify the nearest trust point
preceding the most recent transaction, e.g., the 990th transaction.
Then the ledger system can verify whether the most recent
transaction can be trustworthily traced back to the nearest trust
point, e.g., the 990th transaction, without verifying historic
transactions before the nearest trust point. That is, the ledger
system only needs to perform about 10 times of verifications. Thus,
the verification computational efficiency can be greatly improved.
With much less computations, the verification accuracy can be also
increased.
[0054] In some embodiments, the described technologies can
establish trust points on timestamp transactions that store trust
timestamp information from the trust time server. Trust timestamp
information offers an additional layer of trust from the trust time
server that authenticates timing of the stored data (e.g.,
transactions) to further prevent unauthorized alteration of the
stored data. Accordingly, compared to the trust points without
trust timestamp information, the established trust points can have
enhanced trust or endorsement based on the timestamp information
from the trust time server. If a specified transaction determined
to be a trust point is not a timestamp transaction, the ledger
system can establish the trust point on a timestamp transaction
adjacent to be the specified transaction that can be trustworthily
traceable to the specified transaction. If a specified transaction
is determined to be a timestamp transaction but not a trust point,
the ledger system can identify a timestamp transaction that is
adjacent to the specified transaction and trustworthily traceable
to a preceding trust point before the timestamp transaction and
establish a new trust point on the adjacent timestamp
transaction.
[0055] In some embodiments, the timestamp transaction can be the
last transaction in a unit of transactions including the specified
transaction or the last transaction in a preceding unit immediately
before the unit including the specified transaction. In such a way,
it can be easier and faster to locate an adjacent timestamp
transaction for establishing the trust point of the specified
transaction. As a result, efficiency and accuracy in verifying
credibility, trustworthiness, and legality of transactions stored
in the ledger system can be further enhanced.
[0056] In some embodiments, the ledger system can establish the
specified transaction as a trust point if both conditions are
satisfied: (1) the specified transaction is trustworthily traceable
to another trust point in the series of transactions, and (2) the
specialized transaction is a timestamp transaction that stores
trust timestamp information from the trust time server. In some
embodiments, the ledger system can first verify the two conditions
in either order or in parallel. For example, the ledger system can
verify that the specialized transaction is a trust point, for
example, by verifying that the specialized transaction can be
trustworthily traceable to another trust point, and then determine
whether the specified transaction is a timestamp transaction. In
some embodiments, the ledger system may first determine whether the
specified transaction is a timestamp transaction, and then
determine whether the specialized transaction can be trustworthily
traceable to another trust point. If the ledger system determines
that the specified transaction satisfies one of the two conditions,
the ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
candidate trust point. Only after the ledger system determines that
the specified transaction satisfies both of the two conditions, the
ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
trust point.
[0057] To provide further context for embodiments of this
specification, and as introduced above, distributed ledger systems
(DLSs), which can also be referred to as consensus networks (e.g.,
made up of peer-to-peer nodes), and blockchain networks, enable
participating entities to securely, and immutably conduct
transactions, and store data. Although the term blockchain is
generally associated with particular networks, and/or use cases,
blockchain is used herein to generally refer to a DLS without
reference to any particular use case.
[0058] A blockchain is a data structure that stores transactions in
a way that the transactions are immutable. Thus, transactions
recorded on a blockchain are reliable and trustworthy. A blockchain
includes one or more blocks. Each block in the chain is linked to a
previous block immediately before it in the chain by including a
hash of the previous block. Each block also includes a local
timestamp (e.g., provided by a computing device that generates the
block or a computing system that manages the blockchain), its own
hash, and one or more transactions. For example, the block can
include a block header and a block body. The block header can
include the local timestamp, its own hash, and a hash of the
previous block. The block body can include payload information such
as the one or more transactions (or transaction data). The
transactions, which have already been verified by the nodes of the
blockchain network, are hashed and encoded into a Merkle tree. A
Merkle tree is a data structure in which data at the leaf nodes of
the tree is hashed, and all hashes in each branch of the tree are
concatenated at the root of the branch. This process continues up
the tree to the root of the entire tree, which stores a hash that
is representative of all data in the tree. A hash purporting to be
of a transaction stored in the tree can be quickly verified by
determining whether it is consistent with the structure of the
tree.
[0059] Whereas a blockchain is a decentralized or at least
partially decentralized data structure for storing transactions, a
blockchain network is a network of computing nodes that manage,
update, and maintain one or more blockchains by broadcasting,
verifying and validating transactions, etc. As introduced above, a
blockchain network can be provided as a public blockchain network,
a private blockchain network, or a consortium blockchain
network.
[0060] In general, a consortium blockchain network is private among
the participating entities. In a consortium blockchain network, the
consensus process is controlled by an authorized set of nodes,
which can be referred to as consensus nodes, one or more consensus
nodes being operated by a respective entity (e.g., a financial
institution, insurance company). For example, a consortium of ten
(10) entities (e.g., financial institutions, insurance companies)
can operate a consortium blockchain network, each of which operates
at least one node in the consortium blockchain network. In some
examples, within a consortium blockchain network, a global
blockchain is provided as a blockchain that is replicated across
all nodes. That is, all consensus nodes are in perfect state
consensus with respect to the global blockchain. To achieve
consensus (e.g., agreement to the addition of a block to a
blockchain), a consensus protocol is implemented within the
consortium blockchain network. For example, the consortium
blockchain network can implement a practical Byzantine fault
tolerance (PBFT) consensus, described in further detail below.
[0061] In some embodiments, a centralized ledger system can also
adopt the data structure of a blockchain to leverage immutability,
reliability, and trustworthiness of data stored on a blockchain. In
some embodiments, such a centralized ledger system can be referred
to as a blockchain-based centralized ledger system or a universal
auditable ledger service system. In some embodiments, the
blockchain-based centralized ledger system can include a central
trusted authority that provides transparent, immutable, and
cryptographically verifiable data that are stored in blocks of a
blockchain data structure. The stored data can be in a log format,
including, for example, not only for transaction logs but also
other transaction data and block data. Due to the existence of the
central trusted authority, the blockchain-based centralized ledger
system does not need to perform consensus processes to establish
trust. In some embodiments, the blockchain-based centralized ledger
system can be more efficient compared to a typical blockchain-based
distributed or decentralized ledger system. In some embodiments,
the blockchain-based centralized ledger system can provide a
cloud-based storage service with enhanced trust, efficiency, and
storage performance.
[0062] In some embodiments, the centralized ledger system can be a
node of a blockchain network. For example, the centralized ledger
system can be a non-consensus node in the blockchain network and
can provide highly reliable and high-performance auditable
streaming ledger services for the consensus nodes or other
non-consensus nodes in the blockchain network, or entities outside
of the blockchain network.
[0063] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
environment 100 that can be used to execute embodiments of this
specification. In some examples, the environment 100 enables
entities to participate in a consortium blockchain network 102. The
environment 100 includes computing systems 106, 108, and a network
110. In some examples, the network 110 includes a local area
network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, or a
combination thereof, and connects web sites, user devices (e.g.,
computing devices), and back-end systems. In some examples, the
network 110 can be accessed over a wired and/or a wireless
communications link. In some examples, the network 110 enables
communication with, and within the consortium blockchain network
102. In general the network 110 represents one or more
communication networks. In some cases, the computing systems 106,
108 can be nodes of a cloud computing system (not shown), or each
of the computing systems 106, 108 can be a separate cloud computing
system including a number of computers interconnected by a network
and functioning as a distributed processing system.
[0064] In the depicted example, the computing systems 106, 108 can
each include any appropriate computing system that enables
participation as a node in the consortium blockchain network 102.
Examples of computing systems include, without limitation, a
server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computing
device, and a smartphone. In some examples, the computing systems
106, 108 host one or more computer-implemented services for
interacting with the consortium blockchain network 102. For
example, the computing system 106 can host computer-implemented
services of a first entity (e.g., user A), such as a transaction
management system that the first entity uses to manage its
transactions with one or more other entities (e.g., other users).
The computing system 108 can host computer-implemented services of
a second entity (e.g., user B), such as a transaction management
system that the second entity uses to manage its transactions with
one or more other entities (e.g., other users). In the example of
FIG. 1, the consortium blockchain network 102 is represented as a
peer-to-peer network of nodes, and the computing systems 106, 108
provide nodes of the first entity, and second entity respectively,
which participate in the consortium blockchain network 102.
[0065] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
architecture 200 in accordance with embodiments of the
specification. The example conceptual architecture 200 includes
participant systems 202, 204, 206 that correspond to Participant A,
Participant B, and Participant C, respectively. Each participant
(e.g., user, enterprise) participates in a blockchain network 212
provided as a peer-to-peer network including multiple nodes 214, at
least some of which immutably record information in a blockchain
216. Although a single blockchain 216 is schematically depicted
within the blockchain network 212, multiple copies of the
blockchain 216 are provided, and are maintained across the
blockchain network 212, as described in further detail herein.
[0066] In the depicted example, each participant system 202, 204,
206 is provided by, or on behalf of Participant A, Participant B,
and Participant C, respectively, and functions as a respective node
214 within the blockchain network. As used herein, a node generally
refers to an individual system (e.g., computer, server) that is
connected to the blockchain network 212, and enables a respective
participant to participate in the blockchain network. In the
example of FIG. 2, a participant corresponds to each node 214. It
is contemplated, however, that a participant can operate multiple
nodes 214 within the blockchain network 212, and/or multiple
participants can share a node 214. In some examples, the
participant systems 202, 204, 206 communicate with, or through the
blockchain network 212 using a protocol (e.g., hypertext transfer
protocol secure (HTTPS)), and/or using remote procedure calls
(RPCs).
[0067] Nodes 214 can have varying degrees of participation within
the blockchain network 212. For example, some nodes 214 can
participate in the consensus process (e.g., as miner nodes that add
blocks to the blockchain 216), while other nodes 214 do not
participate in the consensus process. As another example, some
nodes 214 store a complete copy of the blockchain 216, while other
nodes 214 only store copies of portions of the blockchain 216. For
example, data access privileges can limit the blockchain data that
a respective participant stores within its respective system. In
the example of FIG. 2, the participant systems 202, 204, and 206
store respective, complete copies 216', 216'', and 216''' of the
blockchain 216.
[0068] A blockchain (e.g., the blockchain 216 of FIG. 2) is made up
of a chain of blocks, each block storing data. Examples of data
include transaction data representative of a transaction between
two or more participants. Transaction data is used as an example of
data record stored in the blockchain. Examples of a transaction can
include, without limitation, exchanges of something of value (e.g.,
assets, products, services, currency). In some embodiments, one or
more operations executed in the ledger system can be stored as
transaction data in the blockchain. For example, the transaction
data can include one or more operations or manipulations of data
stored in the block chain, information (e.g., timestamp
information) obtained from an external resource, or any appropriate
data can be stored in a blockchain (e.g., documents, images,
videos, audio). The transaction data is immutably stored within the
blockchain. That is, the transaction data cannot be changed.
[0069] Before storing in a block, the transaction data is hashed.
Hashing is a process of transforming the transaction data (provided
as string data) into a fixed-length hash value (also provided as
string data). It is not possible to un-hash the hash value to
obtain the transaction data. Hashing ensures that even a slight
change in the transaction data results in a completely different
hash value. Further, and as noted above, the hash value is of fixed
length. That is, no matter the size of the transaction data the
length of the hash value is fixed. Hashing includes processing the
transaction data through a hash function to generate the hash
value. An example of a hash function includes, without limitation,
the secure hash algorithm (SHA)-256, which outputs 256-bit hash
values.
[0070] Transaction data of multiple transactions are hashed and
stored in a block. For example, hash values of two transactions are
provided, and are themselves hashed to provide another hash. This
process is repeated until, for all transactions to be stored in a
block, a single hash value is provided. This hash value is referred
to as a Merkle root hash, and is stored in a header of the block. A
change in any of the transactions will result in change in its hash
value, and ultimately, a change in the Merkle root hash.
[0071] Blocks are added to the blockchain through a consensus
protocol. Multiple nodes within the blockchain network participate
in the consensus protocol, and perform work to have a block added
to the blockchain. Such nodes are referred to as consensus nodes.
PBFT, introduced above, is used as a non-limiting example of a
consensus protocol. The consensus nodes execute the consensus
protocol to add transactions to the blockchain, and update the
overall state of the blockchain network.
[0072] In further detail, the consensus node generates a block
header, hashes all of the transactions in the block, and combines
the hash value in pairs to generate further hash values until a
single hash value is provided for all transactions in the block
(the Merkle root hash). This hash is added to the block header. The
consensus node also determines the hash value of the most recent
block in the blockchain (i.e., the last block added to the
blockchain). The consensus node also adds a nonce value, and a
timestamp to the block header.
[0073] In general, PBFT provides a practical Byzantine state
machine replication that tolerates Byzantine faults (e.g.,
malfunctioning nodes, malicious nodes). This is achieved in PBFT by
assuming that faults will occur (e.g., assuming the existence of
independent node failures, and/or manipulated messages sent by
consensus nodes). In PBFT, the consensus nodes are provided in a
sequence that includes a primary consensus node, and backup
consensus nodes. The primary consensus node is periodically
changed, Transactions are added to the blockchain by all consensus
nodes within the blockchain network reaching an agreement as to the
world state of the blockchain network. In this process, messages
are transmitted between consensus nodes, and each consensus nodes
proves that a message is received from a specified peer node, and
verifies that the message was not modified during transmission.
[0074] In PBFT, the consensus protocol is provided in multiple
phases with all consensus nodes beginning in the same state. To
begin, a client sends a request to the primary consensus node to
invoke a service operation (e.g., execute a transaction within the
blockchain network). In response to receiving the request, the
primary consensus node multicasts the request to the backup
consensus nodes. The backup consensus nodes execute the request,
and each sends a reply to the client. The client waits until a
threshold number of replies are received. In some examples, the
client waits for f+1 replies to be received, where f is the maximum
number of faulty consensus nodes that can be tolerated within the
blockchain network. The final result is that a sufficient number of
consensus nodes come to an agreement on the order of the record
that is to be added to the blockchain, and the record is either
accepted, or rejected.
[0075] In some blockchain networks, cryptography is implemented to
maintain privacy of transactions. For example, if two nodes want to
keep a transaction private, such that other nodes in the blockchain
network cannot discern details of the transaction, the nodes can
encrypt the transaction data. An example of cryptography includes,
without limitation, symmetric encryption, and asymmetric
encryption. Symmetric encryption refers to an encryption process
that uses a single key for both encryption (generating ciphertext
from plaintext), and decryption (generating plaintext from
ciphertext). In symmetric encryption, the same key is available to
multiple nodes, so each node can en-/de-crypt transaction data.
[0076] Asymmetric encryption uses keys pairs that each include a
private key, and a public key, the private key being known only to
a respective node, and the public key being known to any or all
other nodes in the blockchain network. A node can use the public
key of another node to encrypt data, and the encrypted data can be
decrypted using other node's private key. For example, and
referring again to FIG. 2, Participant A can use Participant B's
public key to encrypt data, and send the encrypted data to
Participant B. Participant B can use its private key to decrypt the
encrypted data (ciphertext) and extract the original data
(plaintext). Messages encrypted with a node's public key can only
be decrypted using the node's private key.
[0077] Asymmetric encryption is used to provide digital signatures,
which enables participants in a transaction to confirm other
participants in the transaction, as well as the validity of the
transaction. For example, a node can digitally sign a message, and
another node can confirm that the message was sent by the node
based on the digital signature of Participant A. Digital signatures
can also be used to ensure that messages are not tampered with in
transit. For example, and again referencing FIG. 2, Participant A
is to send a message to Participant B. Participant A generates a
hash of the message, and then, using its private key, encrypts the
hash to provide a digital signature as the encrypted hash.
Participant A appends the digital signature to the message, and
sends the message with digital signature to Participant B.
Participant B decrypts the digital signature using the public key
of Participant A, and extracts the hash. Participant B hashes the
message and compares the hashes. If the hashes are same,
Participant B can confirm that the message was indeed from
Participant A, and was not tampered with.
[0078] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an
environment 300 in accordance with embodiments of this
specification. The environment 300 implements trust timestamp
services in a ledger system 310. For illustration purposes only, a
blockchain-based centralized ledger system is described as an
example of the ledger system 310. The blockchain-based centralized
ledger system 310 adopts a data structure of a blockchain to
leverage immutability, reliability, and trustworthiness of data
stored on the blockchain. The centralized ledger system 310 can
also integrate trust timestamp information from a trust time server
350 that is independent from the centralized ledger system 310 for
the data stored on the blockchain, which can greatly enhance
credibility, auditability, and legality of the stored data.
[0079] In some embodiments, the centralized ledger system 310 can
be a cloud computing system including one or more computers
interconnected by a network. The centralized ledger system 310 can
include any appropriate computing devices. Examples of computing
devices include, without limitation, a server, a desktop computer,
a laptop computer, a tablet computing device, and a smartphone.
[0080] In some examples, the centralized ledger system 310 includes
one or more ledger servers 320-1 to 320-n (collectively referred to
herein as "320"). Each ledger server 320 can host one or more
computer-implemented services for interacting with at least one
client, e.g., client 1 or client m. The client can be an
individual, a company, an organization, a financial institution, an
insurance company, or any other type of entity. In some cases, a
client can be associated with one or more ledger servers. In some
cases, a ledger server can be associated with one or more
clients.
[0081] The ledger server 320 can host a transaction management
system to provide a ledger service for a client, e.g., client 1 or
client m, and the client can use one or more associated devices,
e.g., client device 340-1 or 340-m (collectively referred to herein
as "340"), to access the transaction management system to use the
ledger service. The client device 340 can include any appropriate
computing devices.
[0082] The ledger service provided by the ledger server 320 can
enable a client to store its data in a transparent, immutable, and
cryptographically verifiable blockchain data structure, e.g., a
blockchain. Each ledger server, e.g., 320-1 or 320-n, can maintain
a respective blockchain, e.g., 322-1 to 322-n (collectively
referred to herein as "322"). In some embodiments, each ledger
server 320 can perform similar functions to those of a blockchain
network node (e.g., the computing system 106 or 108 of FIG. 1 or
the computing system 202, 204 or 206 of FIG. 2) in a blockchain
network. For example, each ledger server 320 can generate blocks
and add the blocks to the blockchain 322. In some embodiments, each
ledger server 320 can function as a central trusted authority and
does not need to perform consensus processes with other nodes
(e.g., other client devices or other leger servers) to establish
trust. For example, each ledger server 320 can perform similar
functions to those of a non-consensus node of a blockchain network.
In some embodiments, each ledger server 320 can be the single node
that creates and/or manages the blockchain 322.
[0083] In some embodiments, each client can be associated with a
respective blockchain. In some embodiments, one or more clients can
be associated with a same blockchain. In some embodiments, a
blockchain can be associated with one or more clients.
[0084] In some examples, client 1 is an individual, a company, or
an organization. The client device 340-1 associated with client 1
can interact with the ledger server 320-1 to obtain a ledger
service of the centralized ledger system 310. For example, the
client device 340-1 can access the blockchain 322-1 to read and
store transaction data associated with client 1 through the ledger
server 320-1. The client device 340-1 can include, for example, any
suitable computer, module, server, or computing element programmed
to perform methods described herein. In some embodiments, the
client device 340-1 can include a user device, such as, a personal
computer, a smartphone, a tablet, or other handheld device.
[0085] In some examples, client m is an insurance company or a
financial institution such as a bank that has a number of
individual users. The client device 340-m associated with client m
can interact with the ledger server 320-m to provide a ledger
service of the centralized ledger system 310 to the individual
users of client m. For example, the client device 340-m can access
the blockchain 322-m to read and store transaction data associated
with client m through the ledger server 320-m. In some cases, a
user of client m can request a ledger service of the centralized
ledger system 310 through the client device 340-m.
[0086] The data stored in a blockchain can be in a log format,
including, for example, not only for transaction logs but also
other transaction data and block data. Each blockchain stores data
in a way that the data is immutable and cannot be altered or
deleted. Using cryptography can enable verification that there have
been no unintended modification to the stored data. Thus, data
recorded on the blockchain are reliable and trustworthy.
[0087] The blockchain can include one or more blocks. Each block in
the blockchain is linked to a previous block immediately before it
in the chain by including a hash of the previous block. Each block
also includes a local timestamp, its own hash, and one or more
transactions or transaction data. For example, the block can
include a block header and a block body. The block header can
include the local timestamp, its own hash, and a hash of the
previous block. The block body can include payload information such
as the one or more transactions or transaction data. The local
timestamp indicates a time point or instance when the block is
generated and/or added to the blockchain. The local timestamp can
be internally provided by the ledger server 320, the centralized
ledger system 310, or a central trusted authority associated with
the centralized ledger system 310.
[0088] In some embodiments, the ledger server 320 sequentially
receives a series of transactions associated with a client and then
stores the transactions in blocks of a blockchain. In some
embodiments, the ledger server 320 can receive one or more
transactions, for example, from one or more client devices 340. The
received transactions can be stored in a data buffer. The ledger
server 320 can generate a block to store the transactions, for
example, including transferee and transferor accounts, transaction
amounts, or other types of information of the transactions.
[0089] In some embodiments, the ledger server 320 can store the
transactions in a stream, array, or another data structure
(referred to as a transaction storage stream). For example, the
transactions can be sequentially stored in the transaction storage
stream according to time of occurrence of the transactions. Each
transaction can have a respective transaction identifier in the
transaction storage stream, for example, according to its time of
occurrence. The ledger server 320 can generate blocks to include a
number of transactions or a number of hashes for the transactions.
In some embodiments, the transactions or the hashes for the
transactions can be stored according to the time of occurrence of
corresponding transactions, instead of according to values of the
hashes. In some embodiments, the hashes for the transactions can be
hashes of the transactions or hashes of the respective transaction
identifiers of the transactions. A block can include a hash of a
previous block immediately before it such that the blocks are
anchored with each other to form a blockchain (or a block storage
stream). In such a way, the blocks do not store details of the
transactions. The details of the transactions can be stored in the
transaction storage stream in the ledger server 320 or a separate
repository in the centralized ledger system 310.
[0090] The ledger server 320 can also provide trust timestamp
services to a client. In some embodiments, the ledger server 320
can request trust timestamps from the trust time server 350 for
data stored in the ledger server 320, which can enhance
credibility, auditability, and legality of the stored data. The
trust time server 350 is independent from the centralized ledger
system 310. The trust time server 350 can be associated with a
third-party trust time authority that provides accurate (or true)
time services and can be, for example, globally, acknowledged or
trusted by the public, auditing entities (such as companies,
institutions, or organizations), and/or legal entities (such as
courts or governments). Trust timestamp information provided by the
trust time server 350 can be acknowledged or considered as legality
without notarization and/or forensic identification. For example,
the trust time server 350 can be a UTC (Coordinated Universal
Time)/GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) server providing UTC/GMT time
services. The trust time server 350 can also be a time server of a
trust authority providing standard times for a country or a
region.
[0091] The centralized ledger system 310 can communicate with the
trust time server 350 through a network, e.g., the network 110 of
FIG. 1. In response to receiving a timestamp request from a
customer, e.g., the ledger server 320, the trust time server 350
can generate a timestamp indicating a time point when receiving the
timestamp request. The trust time server 350 can generate a
signature to authenticate the timestamp and the timestamp request
(e.g., a textual or imaging copy of the timestamp request). For
example, the trust time server 350 can use its private key to sign,
thus cryptographically encrypting, the timestamp and the timestamp
request. The trust time server 350 can generate a digital timestamp
certificate including the timestamp and the associated signature
and transmit timestamp information including the timestamp
certificate to the customer. The trust time server 350 can provide
the trust timestamp service with a cost, e.g., $1 per timestamp
request.
[0092] In some embodiments, the ledger server 320 transmits to the
trust time server 350 a timestamp request for authenticating a time
of a block in a blockchain. The timestamp request can include
information of the block, e.g., a hash of the block. The time
server 350 can generate and transmit timestamp information
including the timestamp and associated signature for the block or a
hash of the timestamp and associated signature. After receiving the
timestamp information from the trust time server 350, the ledger
server 320 can store the timestamp information or a hash of the
timestamp information into a following block immediately subsequent
to the block in the blockchain. In some embodiment, the timestamp
information can be stored as a transaction in the following block.
A block storing the timestamp information can be referred to be a
timestamped block. The timestamped block can be a block that
includes only the timestamp information, or a block that also
include other transactions in addition to the timestamp
information. Timestamped blocks in the blockchain can be anchored
or linked to each other in the blockchain.
[0093] In some embodiment, the ledger server 320 can periodically
transmit timestamp requests for to-be-timestamped blocks in a
blockchain to the trust time server 350 with a predetermined
triggering time period. For example, the ledger server 320 can
include a timer counting a time after transmitting a first
timestamp request. When the timer counts the predetermined
triggering time period, the ledger server 320 can be triggered to
transmit a second timestamp request immediately subsequent to the
first timestamp request. The centralized ledger system 310 or the
ledger server 320 can provide timestamp services with different
costs corresponding to different triggering time periods. The
triggering time period can be predetermined by a client (or a user)
associated with the blockchain or the ledger server 320. For
example, the client can choose a timestamp service corresponding to
a respective cost and a respective triggering time period.
[0094] In some embodiments, the ledger server 320 may not transmit
timestamp requests to the trust time server 350 periodically. For
example, the ledger server 320 may transmit timestamp requests on
demand or based on the number of the blocks generated by the ledger
server 320. For example, the ledger server 320 may transmit a
timestamp request of a block upon receiving instructions from the
client, or upon a predetermined number of blocks have been recently
added to the blockchain 322.
[0095] In some embodiments, the ledger server 320 may generate
blocks periodically at a predetermined time period of block
generation. The predetermined triggering time period can be the
same or different from the time period of block generation. The
predetermined triggering time period can be longer than the time
period of block generation so that not every block is being
timestamped, for example, due to the cost of obtaining the
timestamp from the trust time server 350. In some embodiments, the
ledger server 320 may not generate blocks periodically. For
example, the ledger server 320 may generate blocks on demand or
based on the number of the transactions received by the ledger
server 320. For example, the ledger server 320 may generate a new
block upon receiving a predetermined number of transactions.
[0096] In some embodiment, the ledger server 320 can include one or
more application programming interfaces (APIs) that is configured
to communicate with the trust time server 350. An API can include a
set of subroutine definitions, communication protocols, and tools
for building software, and defines functionality provided by a
program (module, library) and allows abstraction from exactly how
this functionality is implemented. Software components interact
with each other through the APIs. In some embodiment, the ledger
server 320 can include one or more APIs that can implement
functionalities of receiving a hash of a to-be-timestamped block as
an input for a timestamp request, transmitting the timestamp
request to the trust time server 350, and receiving trust timestamp
information, e.g., a digital timestamp certificate or a timestamp
and associated signature, sent by the trust time server 350.
[0097] The ledger server 320 can include one or more APIs that are
configured to communicate with a client device 340 associated with
a client. The one or more APIs can implement functionalities such
as receiving a request for a timestamp service from the client
device 340, listing different timestamp services with different
costs and different triggering time periods, receiving a selection
among the timestamp services from the client device 340, and
transmitting or displaying a corresponding cost with a
corresponding triggering time period to the client device 340. In
some embodiment, the one or more APIs can also implement
functionalities such as receiving a request for verifying or
auditing transactions stored on a blockchain associated with the
client and transmitting a verification or audition result to the
client device 340. As discussed with further details in FIGS. 4A
and 4B, the one or more APIs can also implement other
functionalities such as receiving transactions or transaction data
and client signatures from the client device 340 and transmitting a
ledger signature indicating acknowledging the receipt or storage of
the transactions or transaction data and/or the client
signatures.
[0098] In some embodiments, the centralized ledger system 310
includes a centralized server 330. The centralized server 330 can
be in communication with the number of ledger servers 320 in the
centralized ledger system 310. In some embodiments, the ledger
servers 320 communicates with the client devices 340 through the
centralized server 330. For example, the centralized server 330 can
receive data from a client device 340 and send the data to a ledger
server 320 corresponding to (or assigned to) the client device
340.
[0099] In some embodiments, the centralized server 330 can maintain
a standard time server for the centralized ledger system 310 and
can provide internal timestamps (and/or associated signatures) to
the ledger servers 320. For example, when a ledger server 320
generates a new block, the ledger server 320 can obtain an internal
timestamp (and/or associated signature) from the centralized server
330 and store the internal timestamp (and/or associated signature)
in the new block.
[0100] In some embodiments, each of the ledger servers 320
communicates with the trust time server 350 through the centralized
server 330. For example, the ledger servers 320 can transmit
original timestamp requests to the centralized server 330 and the
centralized server 330 can transmit the original timestamp requests
or centralized server timestamp requests associated with the
timestamp requests to the trust time server 350, e.g., through a
centralized API in the centralized server 330. The centralized
server 330 can provide trust timestamp information obtained from
the trust time server 350 to the ledger servers 320. In some other
embodiments, as described above, each of the ledger servers 320 can
communicate with the trust time server 350 directly without the
centralized server 330.
[0101] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system such as a blockchain-based centralized ledger system 400 for
implementing a trust timestamp service in a single ledger server
associated with a single client in accordance with embodiments of
this specification. The blockchain-based centralized ledger system
400 can include a single ledger server 420 dedicated to provide a
ledger service to a single client associated with a client device
410. The blockchain-based centralized ledger system 400 can be an
example of the centralized ledger system 310 of FIG. 3. For
example, the ledger server 420 can be an example of the ledger
server 320-1 of FIG. 3. The client device 410 can be an example of
the client device 340-1 of FIG. 3. The client uses the client
device 410 to access the ledger service provided by the ledger
server 420, in the blockchain-based centralized ledger system 400.
The ledger server 420 can also provide a trust timestamp service to
the client by communicating with a trust time server 430, which can
be, for example, the trust time server 350 of FIG. 3.
[0102] The ledger server 420 can provide the ledger service and the
trust timestamp service exclusively to the client. The ledger
server 420 can store transaction data associated with the client in
a blockchain exclusively for the client and independent (or
separate) from other clients in the centralized ledger system 400.
The ledger server 420 can request and store trust timestamp
information exclusively for the transaction data associated with
the client stored in the blockchain in the ledger server 420. The
client can have an administrative right for storing transactions in
the blockchain. In some cases, the client can provide to a third
party a secondary ledger right that allows the third party to store
transactions in the blockchain associated with the client.
[0103] In some embodiments, when a transaction (or transaction
data) associated with the client is stored in the ledger server
420, the client can use the client device 410 to transmit a client
signature to the ledger server 420. The client signature can
indicate that the client acknowledges that the transaction has been
completed and/or is to be stored in the ledger server 420. Thus,
the client cannot repudiate the transaction.
[0104] In some embodiments, after receiving and/or storing the
transaction (or the transaction data) in the ledger server 420
(e.g., in a blockchain), the ledger server 420 can transmit a
ledger signature to the client device 410. The ledger signature can
indicate that the ledger server 420 acknowledges the receipt and/or
storage of the transaction. Thus, the ledger server 420 cannot deny
storing the transaction.
[0105] In some embodiments, the ledger server 420 can transmit to
the trust time server 430 a timestamp request for transactions that
are associated with the client and stored in the ledger server 420.
The trust time server 430 can provide a timestamp and associated
signature for the transactions to the ledger server 420. The
timestamp signature can include information of the transactions.
Thus, the trust time server 430 cannot deny that its endorsement of
time of the transactions and the timestamps for the transactions
are trustworthy.
[0106] In some embodiments, the three respective rights of the
three parties (the client, the ledger server, and the trust time
server) are independent from each other, which can enhance
creditability and auditability of the transaction data stored in
the centralized ledger system.
[0107] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of a ledger
system such as a blockchain-based centralized ledger system 450 for
providing a trust timestamp service to multiple clients by a joint
ledger server in accordance with embodiments of this specification.
The blockchain-based centralized ledger system 450 can include a
single joint ledger server 470 for providing a ledger service to
multiple clients, client 1 to client n. The blockchain-based
centralized ledger system 450 can be another example of the
centralized ledger system 310 of FIG. 3. For example, the joint
ledger server 470 can be an example of the ledger server 320 of
FIG. 3. Each client, client 1 to client n, can be associated with a
respective client device, 460-1 to 460-n. In some embodiments, the
client devices 460-1 to 460-n can be examples of the client device
340-1 or 340-m of FIG. 3. Each client can use its respective client
device 460 to access the ledger service provided by the ledger
server 420, in the blockchain-based centralized ledger system 450.
As an example, the clients can include multiple financial
institutions such as customer banks.
[0108] Each client can use its associated client device to store
transactions (or transaction data) in a joint blockchain shared
with other clients. Similar to FIG. 4A, each client can transmit a
respective client signature to the ledger server 470 and the ledger
server 470 can return a corresponding ledger signature to the
client. The ledger server 470 can transmit timestamp requests for
the transactions stored in the joint blockchain to the trust time
server 430 and receive and store timestamp information for the
transactions in the joint blockchain.
[0109] FIGS. 5A-5C are schematic diagrams illustrating an example
of a ledger system for managing trust points in accordance with
embodiments of this specification. The ledger system can be a
blockchain-based ledger system, such as a consortium blockchain
network 102 of FIG. 1 or 212 of FIG. 2, or the blockchain-based
centralized ledger system 310 of FIG. 3, 400 of FIG. 4A, or 450 of
FIG. 5B. The ledger system can be also a ledger system without
blockchains. The ledger system stores a series of records. Each
record can include a transaction in a ledger system or a block in a
blockchain. For illustration purposes, a transaction is described
as an example of a record.
[0110] As illustrated in FIG. 5A, a series of transactions (TX),
e.g., TXi-5 to TXi+3 where i is an integer larger than 5, can be
stored in the ledger system. Each transaction can have a respective
transaction identifier, e.g., i for TXi, and can be sequentially
added (or stored) in the series of transactions in the ledger
system. The series of transactions can be stored in order in the
ledger system according to the respective transaction identifiers.
The transactions can be linked or anchored together. For example,
each transaction can store information, e.g., a respective hash, of
a preceding transaction immediately before the transaction, for
example, for verifying trustworthiness of the preceding
transaction.
[0111] In some embodiments, each transaction includes a transaction
header and a transaction body. The transaction header can include a
local timestamp, its own hash, and/or a hash of the immediately
preceding transaction. The transaction body can include payload
information of the transaction such as transfer participants, a
transfer amount, and/or transfer time or place. The local timestamp
indicates a time point or instance when the transaction is
generated and/or added to the ledger system. The local timestamp
can be internally provided by a server associated with the ledger
system or a central trusted authority associated with the ledger
system.
[0112] In some embodiments, the ledger system can establish trust
points in the series of transactions. A trust point indicates that
transactions before the trust point in the series of transactions
are trustworthy. When a transaction in the series of transactions
is to be verified, the ledger system can determine the transaction
is trustworthily verified by tracing the transaction to an adjacent
(e.g., a nearest) trust point preceding the transaction, without
verifying transactions preceding the adjacent trust point in the
series of transactions. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5A,
transaction TXi is a trust point established by the ledger system.
When the ledger system verifies whether transaction TXi+3 is
trustworthy, the ledger system may only need to verify whether
transaction TXi+3 is trustworthily traceable back to the trust
point TXi, without verifying whether transaction TXi+3 is
trustworthily traceable back to TXi-1, TXi-2, . . . , TXi-5, or
even earlier transactions in the series of transactions.
[0113] The ledger system can determine whether a specified
transaction (e.g., a transaction under consideration or a
transaction of interest) in the series of transactions is a trust
point, for example, by verifying that the specified transaction can
be trustworthily traceable to a preceding trust point. The
preceding trust point can be a nearest trust point before the
specified transaction in the series of transactions, any other
preceding trust point before the specified transaction, or an
original transaction that is a source for all the trust points in
the series of transactions.
[0114] In some embodiments, the ledger system can verify that the
specified transaction is trustworthily traceable to a trust point
by verifying that the specified transaction includes information
that is traceable to the trust point. The traceable information can
include, for example, a hash of an immediately preceding
transaction, a hash of a transaction identifier of the immediately
preceding transaction, or any other type of information that can be
used to verify the authenticity of the immediately preceding
transaction. For example, the ledger system can verify each
transaction from the specified transaction to the preceding trust
point in the series of transactions includes a respective hash of a
preceding transaction immediately before the transaction. Using the
example in FIG. 5A, given that transaction TXi+3 is the specified
transaction, the ledger system can verify that transaction TXi+3 is
trustworthy by identifying a nearest trust point, transaction TXi,
and verifying that transaction TXi+3 is trustworthily traceable
back to transaction TXi+2, transaction TXi+2 is trustworthily
traceable back to transaction TXi+1, and transaction TXi+1 is
trustworthily traceable back to transaction TXi, but without
verifying whether transaction TXi+3 is trustworthily traceable back
to TXi-1, TXi-2, . . . , TXi-5, The verification can be performed
forward, backward, or in both directions, for example, by tracing
from the specified transaction back to the preceding trust point in
the series of transactions or tracing from the preceding trust
point forward to the specified transaction in the series of
transactions.
[0115] In some embodiments, the ledger system can periodically
establish trust points in the series of transactions with a time
period, e.g., 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year. The time
period can be determined per client's request or needs. For
example, the ledger system can provide trust point services with
different costs corresponding to different time periods. The time
period can be predetermined by a client (or a user) associated with
the ledger system. The client can choose a trust point service with
a respective time period corresponding to a respective cost.
[0116] In some embodiments, the ledger system may not establish
trust points periodically. For example, the ledger system may
establish a trust point on demand or based on the number of the
transactions received by the ledger system. For example, the ledger
system may receive a request from a client to determine whether a
specified transaction is a trust point and/or establish a trust
point on the specified transaction or on a transaction adjacent to
the specified transaction. In some embodiments, the ledger system
may also establish a new trust point upon receiving a predetermined
number of transactions so that a trust point exists every the
predetermined number of transactions.
[0117] In some embodiments, the ledger system can request trust
timestamp information for the stored transactions from a trust time
server. The trust time server is independent from the ledger system
and can be associated with a third-party trust time authority that
provides accurate time services and can be acknowledged or trusted,
for example, globally, by the public, auditing entities (such as
companies, institutions, or organizations), and/or legal entities
(such as courts or governments). The trust time server can be, for
example, the time server 350 of FIG. 3 or the time server 430 of
FIGS. 4A-4B. As the trustworthiness of the timestamp information
provided by the trust time server is acknowledged, integrating the
timestamp information of the trust time server into the ledger
system for the stored transactions can further enhance credibility,
auditability, and legality of the transactions stored in the ledger
system.
[0118] The ledger system can transmit a timestamp request to the
trust time server. In some examples, the timestamp request includes
an identifier of the timestamp request among multiple timestamp
requests transmitted to the trust time server by the ledger system.
In some examples, the timestamp request includes an identifier or a
hash of the most recent transaction stored in the series of
transactions. In some examples, multiple transactions can be
considered as a unit or a group and the ledger system can request
trust timestamp information for the transactions in the unit. The
timestamp request can include a hash digest of hashes of the
transactions in the unit.
[0119] After receiving trust timestamp information for the
timestamp request, e.g., trust timestamp (TS) and associated
signature, from the trust time server, the ledger system can store
the trust timestamp information, for example, as a new transaction
or be added to another transaction in the series of transactions.
The new transaction can be linked or anchored to the series of
transactions by storing a hash of the most recent transaction in
the series of transactions. The new transaction storing the trust
timestamp information can be labelled or marked as a new timestamp
transaction in the series of transactions. The new timestamp
transaction is stored immediately after the most recent transaction
in the series of transactions.
[0120] In some embodiments, the ledger system can group multiple
transactions in a unit and include a timestamp transaction as a
last transaction in the unit. In some instances, the timestamp
transaction can be considered as including the acknowledged trust
timestamp information for all the transactions in the unit.
[0121] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, transactions TXi-4,
TXi-3, and TXi-2 are considered as a unit. In some embodiments, the
ledger system can calculate hashes of the three transactions in the
unit and generate a hash digest of the hashes. The ledger system
can then send a timestamp request including the hash digest of the
hashes of the transactions in the unit. After receiving trust
timestamp and associated signature for the timestamp request, the
ledger system stores the trust timestamp and associated signature
in a new transaction TXi-1 that is stored immediately after the
most recent transaction TXi-2. Transaction TXi-1 is a timestamp
transaction that stores trust timestamp information from the trust
time server. Transaction TXi-1 is included in the unit as the last
transaction and linked to the transactions by storing a hash of an
immediately preceding transaction TXi-2. In some embodiments, the
timestamp transaction TXi-1 can also store a hash digest of hashes
of the transactions in the unit, i.e., TXi-4, TXi-3, and TXi-2, and
the transactions in the unit can be considered to have the same
trust stamp as the timestamp transaction.
[0122] Similarly, transactions TXi, TXi+1, TXi+2 can be considered
as a unit. The ledger system can obtain trust timestamp information
for the unit from the trust time server and store the trust
timestamp information in transaction TXi+3 that immediately follows
TXi+2 in the series of transactions. Transaction TXi+3 is a new
timestamp transaction and is included as a last transaction in the
unit including the transactions TXi, TXi+1, and TXi+2.
[0123] In some embodiments, transactions between two adjacent
timestamp transactions are considered to have trust timestamp same
as the latter of the two adjacent timestamp transactions. The
transactions and the latter timestamp transaction can be considered
as a unit with the latter timestamp transaction as the last
transaction in the unit.
[0124] In some embodiments, the ledger system can collect
transactions stored in the series of transactions after a first
timestamp transaction and transmit a timestamp request including
information of the collected transactions, e.g., a hash digest of
hashes of the collected transactions to the trust time server.
After receiving trust timestamp and associated signature from the
trust time server, the ledger system stores the trust timestamp and
associated signature in a new transaction as a second timestamp
transaction. The collected transactions after the first timestamp
transaction can be considered to have a same trust timestamp as the
second timestamp transaction. The collected transactions and the
second timestamp transaction can be considered as a unit.
[0125] In some embodiments, the ledger system can periodically
transmit a timestamp request to the trust time server with a
triggering time period. The ledger system can include a timer
counting a time after transmitting a first timestamp request. When
the timer counts to the triggering time period, the ledger system
can be triggered to transmit a second timestamp request to the
trust time server.
[0126] In some embodiments, the ledger system may not transmit
timestamp requests to the trust time server periodically. For
example, the ledger system may transmit a timestamp request upon
receiving instructions from a client, or upon a predetermined
number of transactions have been recently added to the series of
transactions after the previous timestamp request. For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 5B, the ledger system can transmit a timestamp
request for every three transactions, e.g., TXi-4, TXi-3, and
TXi-2, or TXi, TXi+1, and TXi+2, and generate timestamp
transactions, e.g., transactions TXi-5, TXi-1, and TXi+3, for the
every three transactions.
[0127] FIG. 5C shows an example of a ledger system managing trust
points on timestamp transactions in accordance with embodiments of
this specification. In some embodiments, the ledger system may
receive a request to establish a trust point for a specified
transaction. The specified transaction may or may not be the trust
point. In some embodiments, the ledger system may establish the
specified transaction as a trust point if both conditions are
satisfied: (1) the specified transaction is trustworthily traceable
to another trust point in the series of transactions, and (2) the
specialized transaction is a timestamp transaction that stores
trust timestamp information from the trust time server. In some
embodiments, the ledger system can first verify the two conditions
in either order or in parallel. For example, the ledger system can
verify that the specialized transaction is a trust point, for
example, by verifying that the specialized transaction can be
trustworthily traceable to another trust point, and then determine
whether the specified transaction is a timestamp transaction. In
some embodiments, the ledger system may first determine whether the
specified transaction is a timestamp transaction, and then
determine whether the specialized transaction can be trustworthily
traceable to another trust point. If the ledger system determines
that the specified transaction satisfies one of the two conditions,
the ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
candidate trust point. Only after the ledger system determines that
the specified transaction satisfies both of the two conditions, the
ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
trust point.
[0128] In some embodiments, for determining whether a specified
transaction is a timestamp transaction, the ledger system stores a
table or another suitable data structure listing timestamp
transactions in the series of transactions (e.g., by listing
respective transaction identifiers). The ledger system can search
the table to determine whether the specified transaction is in the
list of timestamp transactions. In some embodiments, the ledger
system can store information of units, e.g., transaction
identifiers of transactions in each unit, in a table or another
suitable data structure. The ledger system can determine whether
the specified transaction is a timestamp transaction by determining
the transaction identifier of the specified transaction is the last
transaction identifier in a corresponding unit.
[0129] If the ledger system determines that the specified
transaction is a timestamp transaction, the ledger system can mark
the specified transaction as the trust point and establish the
specified transaction as the trust point. The ledger system can
also store a table or another suitable data structure listing trust
points in the series of transactions.
[0130] If the ledger system determines that the specified
transaction is not a timestamp transaction, the ledger system may
not mark the specified transaction as the trust point. The ledger
system can identify a timestamp transaction adjacent to the
specified transaction and mark the timestamp transaction as the
trust point for the specified transaction. The timestamp
transaction adjacent to the specified transaction can be a
timestamp transaction preceding or following the specified
transaction. For example, the ledger system can identify an
adjacent timestamp transaction by identifying a last transaction in
a unit that includes the specified transaction to be the timestamp
transaction, or by identifying a last transaction in a preceding
unit immediately before the unit that includes the specified
transaction to be the timestamp transaction. For example, as
illustrated in FIG. 5C, after the ledger system determines that
transaction TXi is a trust point but not a timestamp transaction,
the ledger system can identify an adjacent timestamp transaction
TXi+3 in the same unit as transaction TXi or an adjacent timestamp
transaction TXi-1 in an immediately preceding unit.
[0131] In some embodiments, a timestamp transaction nearest to the
specified transaction can be identified as a candidate trust point
for the specified transaction. For example, the ledger system can
identify an adjacent timestamp transaction among timestamp
transactions in the series of transactions by identifying a
timestamp transaction associated with a transaction identifier that
is closest to a transaction identifier for the specified
transaction.
[0132] After identifying the timestamp transaction adjacent to the
specified transaction as the candidate trust point for the
specified transaction, the ledger system further determines whether
the timestamp transaction is trustworthily traceable to the
specified transaction, for example, by determining whether the
timestamp transaction includes information that is traceable to the
specified transaction. In some embodiments, the ledger system
determines that the timestamp transaction is trustworthily
traceable to the specified transaction by verifying that each
transaction from the timestamp transaction to the specified
transaction in the series of transactions includes a respective
hash of a preceding transaction immediately before the transaction.
For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, to determine whether transaction
TXi is trustworthily traceable to the timestamp transaction TXi-1,
the ledger system can determine whether transaction TXi includes a
hash of the timestamp transaction TXi-1, for example, in the header
of transaction TXi. To determine whether the timestamp transaction
TXi+3 is traceable to transaction TXi, the ledger system can
verifying whether transaction TXi+3 includes a hash of transaction
TXi+2, whether transaction TXi+2 includes a hash of transaction
TXi+1, and whether transaction TXi+1 includes a hash of transaction
TXi. In some embodiments, if a unit of multiple transactions is
configured, the ledger system determines that the timestamp
transaction is trustworthily traceable to the specified transaction
by verifying that the timestamp transaction is the last transaction
in the same unit as the specified transaction or the timestamp
transaction is the last transaction in an immediately preceding
unit.
[0133] If the ledger system determines that the timestamp
transaction is trustworthily traceable to the specified
transaction, the ledger system can mark the timestamp transaction,
not the specified transaction, as the trust point for the specified
transaction and establish the trust point on the timestamp
transaction. If the ledger system determines that the timestamp
transaction is not trustworthily traceable to the specified
transaction, the ledger system can keep searching another adjacent
timestamp transaction and repeat the above steps.
[0134] In some embodiments, the ledger system can store the series
of transactions in a blockchain. For example, the ledger system can
be the ledger system 310 of FIG. 3. The ledger system can include a
ledger server, e.g., the ledger server 320 of FIG. 3, the ledger
server 320 of FIG. 4A, or the ledger server 470 of FIG. 4B. As an
example, the blockchain can be the blockchain 322 of FIG. 3. The
ledger system can sequentially generate blocks storing the
transactions in the blockchain. Each of the blocks can store one or
more transactions. Each block can be linked or anchored together,
for example, by storing a hash of a preceding block that is
immediately before the block in the blockchain. The ledger system
can generate the blocks in the blockchain periodically with a
predetermined time period, or non-periodically (e.g., on demand or
based on a predetermined number of transactions).
[0135] The generation of blocks by the ledger system can be
independent from establishing trust points in the ledger system.
The generation of blocks by the ledger system can be also
independent from transmitting timestamp requests to the trust time
server and/or generating timestamp transactions to be stored in the
ledger system. That is, the generation of blocks can be independent
from grouping units for obtaining trust timestamp information from
the trust time server. For example, the ledger system can group
transactions TXi-4, TXi-3, TXi-2, and TXi-1 as a unit, while the
ledger system can generate a block storing transactions TXi-5,
TXi-4, and TXi-3. In some embodiments, the generation of blocks can
be associated with transmitting timestamp requests to the trust
time server and generating timestamp transactions. For example, the
ledger system can generate a block after generating a timestamp
transaction for transactions in a unit, where the block stores the
transactions in the unit and the timestamp transaction. As an
example, the ledger system can generate a block storing
transactions TXi-4, TXi-3, TXi-2, and TXi-1.
[0136] In some embodiments, a determination (or establishment) of a
trust point by the ledger system can be independent from a
transmission of a timestamp request and/or a generation of
timestamp transaction. In some embodiments, a determination of a
trust point by the ledger system can be associated with the
transmission of a timestamp request and the generation of timestamp
transaction. For example, the ledger system can first generate a
timestamp transaction and then determine whether the timestamp
transaction can be established as a trust point.
[0137] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process
600 for implementation of timestamp services that can be executed
in accordance with embodiments of this specification. For
convenience, the process 600 will be described as being performed
by a system of one or more computers, located in one or more
locations, and programmed appropriately in accordance with this
specification. For example, a ledger system can perform the process
600. The ledger system can be a blockchain-based ledger system,
such as a consortium blockchain network 102 of FIG. 1 or 212 of
FIG. 2 or the blockchain-based centralized ledger system 310 of
FIG. 3, or a ledger system without blockchains.
[0138] At 601, a request for establishing a trust point for a
specified transaction in a series of transactions stored in the
ledger system is obtained, for example, by a computing device in
the ledger system. The specified transaction can be an identified
transaction under consideration or of interest. For example, the
specified transaction can be a latest transaction in the series of
transactions. The specified transaction can be specified, for
example, inputting an identifier of the specified transaction in a
smart contract for calling the function of identifying a trust
point for a specified transaction.
[0139] The trust point indicates that transactions before the trust
point in the series of transactions are trustworthy. As such,
verifying authenticity of a to-be-verified transaction in the
series of transactions may only need to verify authenticity of
transactions between the authenticity of the to-be-verified
transaction and its nearest preceding trust point.
[0140] In some embodiments, each transaction in the series of
transactions is associated with a respective transaction
identifier, and the series of transactions are stored in order
according to respective transaction identifiers. The series of
transactions can be linked or anchored together by each
transaction, for example, storing a respective hash of a preceding
transaction that is immediately before the transaction in the
series of transactions.
[0141] In some embodiments, the request for establishing a trust
point can be an explicit request that is generated by a client on
demand, or an implicit request upon a triggering event such as
after elapse of a predetermined time period or receipt of a number
of transactions.
[0142] In some embodiments, similar to what described with respect
to FIG. 5C, the request for establishing a trust point for the
specified transaction can require two conditions: (1) the specified
transaction is trustworthily traceable to another trust point in
the series of transactions, as described with respect to 602, and
(2) the specialized transaction is trustworthily traceable to a
timestamp transaction that stores trust timestamp information from
the trust time server, as described with respect to 604 to 610. In
some embodiments, the two conditions can be verified in either
order or in parallel. If the ledger system determines that the
specified transaction satisfies one of the two conditions, the
ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
candidate trust point. Only after the ledger system determines that
the specified transaction satisfies both of the two conditions, the
ledger system can determine that the specified transaction is a
trust point.
[0143] At 602, whether the specified transaction is trustworthily
traceable to another trust point is determined. In other words,
whether the specified transaction itself is a candidate trust point
is determined. In some embodiments, the ledger system determines
whether the specified transaction is a candidate trust point, for
example, by verifying whether each transaction from the specified
transaction to the preceding trust point in the series of
transactions includes a respective hash of a preceding transaction
immediately before the transaction. The ledger system can verify
whether the specified transaction is trustworthily traceable to the
preceding trust point by at least one of tracing from the specified
transaction back to the preceding trust point in the series of
transactions or tracing from the preceding trust point to the
specified transaction. The preceding trust point can be a trust
point immediately before the specified transaction in the series of
transactions or a first transaction (or an original transaction)
that is a source for trust points in the series of
transactions.
[0144] The ledger system can periodically establish trust points on
transactions in the series of transactions. The ledger system can
also establish a trust point on demand or according to a number of
transactions added from an immediately preceding trust point. The
ledger system can also verify per request whether a transaction in
the series of transactions is a trust point.
[0145] In some embodiments, the ledger system stores the series of
transactions in a blockchain that includes a plurality of blocks.
Each of the blocks can store one or more transactions and is linked
or anchored together by storing a hash of an immediately preceding
block in the blockchain. The generation of blocks can be
independent from the establishment of trust points or the
determination of the specified transaction to be a trust point.
[0146] At 603, in response to determining that the specified
transaction is not a candidate trust point, the process 600 ends.
The ledger system can generate a message indicating that the
specified transaction cannot be established as a trust point. The
message can be transmitted back to a client device or be displayed
on a screen.
[0147] At 604, in response to determining that the specified
transaction is a candidate trust point, the ledger system
determines whether the specified transaction is a timestamp
transaction that stores trust timestamp information from a trust
time server. The trust time server is independent from the ledger
system and can be associated with a third party trust time
authority.
[0148] In some embodiments, the ledger system can transmit a
timestamp request to the trust time server. The timestamp request
can include an identifier of timestamp request among timestamp
requests transmitted to the trust time server. The timestamp
request can include a transaction identifier or a hash of a most
recent transaction in the series of transaction. The timestamp
request can also include a hash digest of hashes of transactions in
a unit. The unit collects the transactions stored in the series of
transactions from an immediately preceding timestamp
transaction.
[0149] After receiving a trust timestamp and associated signature
for the timestamp request from the trust time server, the ledger
system can store the trust timestamp and associated signature as a
transaction in the series of transactions. The transaction storing
the trust timestamp and associated signature from the trust time
server can be marked as a new timestamp transaction. The new
timestamp transaction can be stored immediately after the most
recent transaction in the series of transactions when the timestamp
request is transmitted. The new timestamp transaction can be linked
to the series of transactions by storing a hash of the most recent
transaction. In some embodiments, the new timestamp transaction can
store a hash digest of hashes of transactions in the unit that
includes the most recent transaction. The transactions in the unit
can be considered to have the same trust timestamp as the new
timestamp transaction. The new timestamp transaction can be
included in the unit as the last transaction.
[0150] In some embodiments, the ledger system can periodically
transmit timestamp requests to the trust time server with a
predetermined triggering time period. The ledger system can also
transmit timestamp requests to the trust time server
non-periodically, e.g., on demand or based on a predetermined
number of transactions collected after an immediately preceding
timestamp request. The transmission of timestamp requests can be
independent from the generation of blocks and/or the establishment
of trust points.
[0151] At 606, in response to determining that the specified
transaction is a timestamp transaction, the ledger system marks the
specified transaction as the trust point, that is, the ledger
system establishes the trust point on the specified
transaction.
[0152] At 608, in response to determining that the specified
transaction is not a timestamp transaction, the ledger system
identifies a timestamp transaction that is adjacent to the
specified transaction in the series of transactions. In some
embodiments, the ledger system can identify the timestamp
transaction by identifying a last transaction in a unit that
includes the specified transaction to be the timestamp transaction
or by identifying a last transaction in a preceding unit
immediately before the unit that includes the specified transaction
to be the timestamp transaction. In some embodiments, the ledger
system stores a table listing transaction identifiers of timestamp
transactions in the series of transactions. The ledger system can
identify the timestamp transaction adjacent to the specified
transaction by identifying a timestamp transaction associated with
a transaction identifier that is closer to a transaction identifier
of the specified transaction than any other transaction identifiers
associated with any other timestamp transactions in the series of
transactions.
[0153] At 610, the ledger system determines whether the timestamp
transaction is trustworthily traceable to the specified
transaction. In some embodiments, the ledger system can verify
whether the timestamp transaction includes information of the
specified transaction if the timestamp transaction follows the
specified transaction in the series of transactions, or verify
whether the specified transaction includes information of the
timestamp transaction if the timestamp transaction precedes the
specified transaction in the series of transactions. In some
embodiments, the ledger system can verify whether each transaction
from the timestamp transaction to the specified transaction in the
series of transactions includes a respective hash of a preceding
transaction immediately before the transaction. If the ledger
system verifies that each transaction from the timestamp
transaction to the specified transaction in the series of
transactions includes a respective hash of a preceding transaction
immediately before the transaction, the ledger system can determine
that the timestamp transaction is trustworthily traceable to the
specified transaction. If the ledger system cannot verify that each
transaction from the timestamp transaction to the specified
transaction in the series of transactions includes a respective
hash of a preceding transaction immediately before the transaction,
the ledger system can determine that the timestamp transaction is
not trustworthily traceable to the specified transaction.
[0154] In response to determining that the timestamp transaction is
not trustworthily traceable to the specified transaction, the
process 600 goes back to step 608 and the ledger system can
continue to identify an adjacent timestamp transaction that can be
trustworthily traceable to the specified transaction.
[0155] At 612, in response to determining that the timestamp
transaction is trustworthily traceable to the specified
transaction, the ledger system marks the timestamp transaction as
the trust point in the series of transactions. That is, the ledger
system establishes the timestamp transaction as the trust point for
the specified transaction.
[0156] At 614, the ledger system receives a request to verify a
to-be-verified transaction in the series of transactions. For
example, the request can be received from a client. The
to-be-verified transaction can be of interest to the client. The
to-be-verified transaction can be a transaction stored before or
after the specified transaction in the series of transactions.
[0157] At 616, the ledger system determines that the transaction is
verified by verifying that the transaction is trustworthily
traceable to a nearest trust point before the transaction in the
series of transactions. As the nearest trust point is trustworthy,
determining that the transaction is verified does not need to
verify transactions preceding the nearest trust point in the series
of transactions. For example, if the to-be-verified transaction is
a transaction after the specified transaction in the series of
transactions, the ledger system can determine that the
to-be-verified transaction is verified by verifying that the
to-be-verified transaction is trustworthily traceable to the
timestamp transaction that is marked as the trust point, without
verifying transactions preceding the timestamp transaction in the
series of transactions.
[0158] FIG. 7 depicts examples of modules of an apparatus 700 in
accordance with embodiments of this specification. The apparatus
700 can be an example of an embodiment of a ledger system
configured to provide ledger services, trust timestamp services,
and trust point services for transaction data stored in the ledger
system. The apparatus 700 can correspond to the embodiments
described above, and the apparatus 700 includes the following: an
obtaining module 701 that obtains a request for establishing a
trust point for a specified record in a series of records stored in
a ledger system by a computing device in the ledger system, the
trust point indicating that records before the trust point in the
series of records are trustworthy; a first determining module 702
that determines whether the specified record in a series of records
stored in the ledger system is a candidate trust point; a second
determining module 704 that determines whether the specified record
is a timestamp record that includes trust timestamp information
from a trust time server by the computing device, the trust time
server being associated with a trust time authority and independent
from the ledger system; an identifying module 706 that identifies a
timestamp record that is adjacent to the specified record among
timestamp records in the series of records in response to
determining that the specified record is not a timestamp record; a
third determining module 708 that determines whether the timestamp
record is trustworthily traceable to the specified record by the
computing device; and a marking module 710 that marks the timestamp
record to be the trust point in the series of records in response
to determining that the timestamp record is trustworthily traceable
to the specified record.
[0159] In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further includes a
receiving module 712 that receives a request to verify a
to-be-verified record in the series of records and a fourth
determining module 714 that determines that the to-be-verified
record is verified by determining the to-be-verified record is
trustworthily traceable to a nearest trust point preceding the
to-be-verified record without verifying records preceding the
nearest trust point in the series of records. In some embodiments,
one or more of the first determining module 702, the second
determining module 704, the third determining module 708, and the
fourth determining module 714 can be implemented as a single
module.
[0160] In some embodiments, each record of the series of records
includes a respective transaction. In some embodiments, each record
of the series of records includes a respective block, and the
series of records form a blockchain.
[0161] In some embodiments, each record of the series of records
includes a respective hash of a preceding record immediately before
the record in the series of record.
[0162] In some embodiments, the third determining module 708 is
configured to determine that the timestamp record is trustworthily
traceable to the specified record by at least one of: verifying
that the timestamp record includes information that is traceable to
the specified record authenticates the specified record or
verifying the specified record includes information that is
traceable to the timestamp record and authenticates the timestamp
record.
[0163] In some embodiments, the third determining module 708 is
configured to determine that the timestamp record is trustworthily
traceable to the specified record by verifying that each record
from the timestamp record to the specified record in the series of
records includes a respective hash of a preceding record
immediately before the record.
[0164] In some embodiments, the first determining module 702 is
configured to determine that a specified record in a series of
records is a trust point by verifying that the specified record is
trustworthily traceable to a preceding trust point before the
specified record in the series of records.
[0165] In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 includes a verifying
module configured to verify that the specified record is
trustworthily traceable to a preceding trust point before the
specified record by verifying that each record from the specified
record to the preceding trust point in the series of records
includes a respective hash of a preceding record immediately before
the record.
[0166] In some embodiments, the preceding trust point is one of a
trust point immediately before the specified record in the series
of records, and a first record that is a source for trust points in
the series of records.
[0167] In optional embodiment, the verifying module is configured
to verify that the specified record is trustworthily traceable to a
preceding trust point before the specified record in the series of
records by at least one of tracing from the specified record back
to the preceding trust point in the series of records or tracing
from the preceding trust point forward to the specified record in
the series of records.
[0168] In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further includes a
transmitting module that transmits a timestamp request to the trust
time server; a second receiving module that receives a trust
timestamp and associated signature for the timestamp request from
the trust time server; and a storing module that stores the trust
timestamp and associated signature as a record in the series of
records. The record storing the trust timestamp and associated
signature from the trust time server is a new timestamp record in
the series of records, and the new timestamp record is stored
immediately after a most recent record stored in the series of
records when the timestamp request is transmitted and includes a
hash of the most recent record.
[0169] In some embodiments, records between the new timestamp
record and a preceding timestamp record immediately before the new
timestamp record in the series of records are grouped in a unit,
and the new timestamp record is included as a last record in the
unit.
[0170] In some embodiments, the timestamp request includes at least
one of: an identifier of the timestamp request among timestamp
requests transmitted to the trust time server, an identifier or a
hash of the most recent record, or a hash digest of hashes of the
records in the unit.
[0171] In some embodiments, the identifying module 706 is
configured to identify the timestamp record by identifying a last
record in a unit that includes the specified record to be the
timestamp record or identifying a last record in a preceding unit
immediately before the unit that includes the specified record to
be the timestamp record.
[0172] In some embodiments, the first determining module 702
determines that a second record in the series of records is a
second trust point, the second determining module 704 determines
that the second record is a timestamp record in the series of
records, and the marking module 710 marks the second record to be
the second trust point in the series of records.
[0173] In some embodiments, the new timestamp record includes a
hash digest of hashes of the records in the unit.
[0174] In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further includes a
transmitting module that periodically transmits timestamp requests
to the trust time server with a predetermined time period for
timestamp request.
[0175] In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 further includes a
generating module that sequentially generates blocks storing the
series of records in a blockchain, each of the blocks storing one
or more records and being linked together in the blockchain.
Generating the blocks in the blockchain is independent from
determining that the specified record is the trust point and
independent from transmitting a timestamp request to the trust time
server.
[0176] In some embodiments, each record in the series of records is
associated with a respective record identifier, and the series of
records are stored in order according to respective record
identifiers, and the identifying module 706 identifies a timestamp
record that is adjacent to the specified record among timestamp
records in the series of records by identifying a timestamp record
associated with a record identifier that is closest to a record
identifier for the specified record in the series of records.
[0177] In some embodiments, determining that the specified record
in the series of records stored in the ledger system is the
candidate trust point is independent from transmitting timestamp
requests to the trust time server.
[0178] In some embodiments, the specified record is not marked as
the trust point in the series of records in response to determining
that the specified record is not a timestamp record that includes
trust timestamp information from a trust time server.
[0179] The system, apparatus, module, or unit illustrated in the
previous embodiments can be implemented by using a computer chip or
an entity, or can be implemented by using a product having a
certain function. A typical embodiment device is a computer (and
the computer can be a personal computer), a laptop computer, a
cellular phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital
assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email receiving
and sending device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable
device, or any combination of these devices.
[0180] For an embodiment process of functions and roles of each
module in the apparatus, references can be made to an embodiment
process of corresponding steps in the previous method. Details are
omitted here for simplicity.
[0181] Because an apparatus embodiment basically corresponds to a
method embodiment, for related parts, references can be made to
related descriptions in the method embodiment. The previously
described apparatus embodiment is merely an example. The modules
described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate,
and parts displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules,
may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a number
of network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected
based on actual demands to achieve the objectives of the solutions
of the specification. A person of ordinary skill in the art can
understand and implement the embodiments of the present application
without creative efforts.
[0182] Referring again to FIG. 7, it can be interpreted as
illustrating an internal functional module and a structure of a
ledger implementation apparatus. The ledger implementation
apparatus can be an example of a ledger system configured to
provide ledger services, trust timestamp services and trust point
services for records (e.g., transaction data) stored in the ledger
system. An execution body in essence can be an electronic device,
and the electronic device includes the following: one or more
processors; and one or more computer-readable memories configured
to store an executable instruction of the one or more processors.
In some embodiments, the one or more computer-readable memories are
coupled to the one or more processors and have programming
instructions stored thereon that are executable by the one or more
processors to perform algorithms, methods, functions, processes,
flows, and procedures, as described in this specification. This
specification also provides one or more non-transitory
computer-readable storage media coupled to one or more processors
and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the
one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform
operations in accordance with embodiments of the methods provided
herein.
[0183] This specification further provides a system for
implementing the methods provided herein. The system includes one
or more processors, and a computer-readable storage medium coupled
to the one or more processors having instructions stored thereon
which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one
or more processors to perform operations in accordance with
embodiments of the methods provided herein.
[0184] Embodiments of the subject matter and the actions and
operations described in this specification can be implemented in
digital electronic circuitry, in tangibly-embodied computer
software or firmware, in computer hardware, including the
structures disclosed in this specification and their structural
equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments
of the subject matter described in this specification can be
implemented as one or more computer programs, e.g., one or more
modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a computer
program carrier, for execution by, or to control the operation of,
data processing apparatus. For example, a computer program carrier
can include one or more computer-readable storage media that have
instructions encoded or stored thereon. The carrier may be a
tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a
magnetic, magneto optical, or optical disk, a solid state drive, a
random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), or other
types of media. Alternatively, or in addition, the carrier may be
an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a
machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal
that is generated to encode information for transmission to
suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing
apparatus. The computer storage medium can be or be part of a
machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage
substrate, a random or serial access memory device, or a
combination of one or more of them. A computer storage medium is
not a propagated signal.
[0185] A computer program, which may also be referred to or
described as a program, software, a software application, an app, a
module, a software module, an engine, a script, or code, can be
written in any form of programming language, including compiled or
interpreted languages, or declarative or procedural languages; and
it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program
or as a module, component, engine, subroutine, or other unit
suitable for executing in a computing environment, which
environment may include one or more computers interconnected by a
data communication network in one or more locations.
[0186] A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file
in a file system. A computer program can be stored in a portion of
a file that holds other programs or data, e.g., one or more scripts
stored in a markup language document, in a single file dedicated to
the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files, e.g.,
files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of
code.
[0187] Processors for execution of a computer program include, by
way of example, both general- and special-purpose microprocessors,
and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer.
Generally, a processor will receive the instructions of the
computer program for execution as well as data from a
non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the
processor.
[0188] The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all kinds
of apparatuses, devices, and machines for processing data,
including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer,
or multiple processors or computers. Data processing apparatus can
include special-purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field
programmable gate array), an ASIC (application specific integrated
circuit), or a GPU (graphics processing unit). The apparatus can
also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an
execution environment for computer programs, e.g., code that
constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database
management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or
more of them.
[0189] The processes and logic flows described in this
specification can be performed by one or more computers or
processors executing one or more computer programs to perform
operations by operating on input data and generating output. The
processes and logic flows can also be performed by special-purpose
logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA, an ASIC, or a GPU, or by a
combination of special-purpose logic circuitry and one or more
programmed computers.
[0190] Computers suitable for the execution of a computer program
can be based on general or special-purpose microprocessors or both,
or any other kind of central processing unit. Generally, a central
processing unit will receive instructions and data from a read only
memory or a random access memory or both. Elements of a computer
can include a central processing unit for executing instructions
and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data.
The central processing unit and the memory can be supplemented by,
or incorporated in, special-purpose logic circuitry.
[0191] Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively
coupled to receive data from or transfer data to one or more
storage devices. The storage devices can be, for example, magnetic,
magneto optical, or optical disks, solid state drives, or any other
type of non-transitory, computer-readable media. However, a
computer need not have such devices. Thus, a computer may be
coupled to one or more storage devices, such as, one or more
memories, that are local and/or remote. For example, a computer can
include one or more local memories that are integral components of
the computer, or the computer can be coupled to one or more remote
memories that are in a cloud network. Moreover, a computer can be
embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal
digital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game
console, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable
storage device, e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to
name just a few.
[0192] Components can be "coupled to" each other by being
commutatively such as electrically or optically connected to one
another, either directly or via one or more intermediate
components. Components can also be "coupled to" each other if one
of the components is integrated into the other. For example, a
storage component that is integrated into a processor (e.g., an L2
cache component) is "coupled to" the processor.
[0193] To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the
subject matter described in this specification can be implemented
on, or configured to communicate with, a computer having a display
device, e.g., a LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for
displaying information to the user, and an input device by which
the user can provide input to the computer, e.g., a keyboard and a
pointing device, e.g., a mouse, a trackball or touchpad. Other
kinds of devices can be used to provide for interaction with a user
as well; for example, feedback provided to the user can be any form
of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or
tactile feedback; and input from the user can be received in any
form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. In addition, a
computer can interact with a user by sending documents to and
receiving documents from a device that is used by the user; for
example, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's device
in response to requests received from the web browser, or by
interacting with an app running on a user device, e.g., a
smartphone or electronic tablet. Also, a computer can interact with
a user by sending text messages or other forms of message to a
personal device, e.g., a smartphone that is running a messaging
application, and receiving responsive messages from the user in
return.
[0194] This specification uses the term "configured to" in
connection with systems, apparatus, and computer program
components. For a system of one or more computers to be configured
to perform particular operations or actions means that the system
has installed on it software, firmware, hardware, or a combination
of them that in operation cause the system to perform the
operations or actions. For one or more computer programs to be
configured to perform particular operations or actions means that
the one or more programs include instructions that, when executed
by data processing apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the
operations or actions. For special-purpose logic circuitry to be
configured to perform particular operations or actions means that
the circuitry has electronic logic that performs the operations or
actions.
[0195] While this specification contains many specific embodiment
details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope
of what is being claimed, which is defined by the claims
themselves, but rather as descriptions of features that may be
specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are
described in this specification in the context of separate
embodiments can also be realized in combination in a single
embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the
context of a single embodiment can also be realized in multiple
embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,
although features may be described above as acting in certain
combinations and even initially be claimed as such, one or more
features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised
from the combination, and the claim may be directed to a
subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
[0196] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings and
recited in the claims in a particular order, this should not be
understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the
particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all
illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.
In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may
be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system modules
and components in the embodiments described above should not be
understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it
should be understood that the described program components and
systems can generally be integrated together in a single software
product or packaged into multiple software products.
[0197] Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been
described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following
claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be
performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.
As one example, the processes depicted in the accompanying figures
do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or
sequential order, to achieve desirable results. In some cases,
multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous.
* * * * *